When Inhabitat’s Architecture Editor,  Bridgette Meinhold, heard about the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and the massive devastation it caused, she wanted to help, and was drawn to start investigating different options for temporary shelters and disaster relief housing. This exploration gradually broadened to a larger focus on design for disaster-preparedness; seeking out what type of shelters can best withstand earthquakes, hurricanes, rising sea levels and tornados. Now I’m thrilled to say that after years of research, Bridgette has just published an incredible new book entitled Urgent Architecture: 40 Sustainable Housing Solutions for a Changing World. Urgent Architecture showcases inspiring and innovative ideas for resilient design – design that will withstand the test of time – surviving climate change, rising sea levels, manmade and natural disasters. I recently had a chance to interview Bridgette about her new book at Inhabitat HQ in NYC, and she gave me some fascinating insight into her inspiration for the book, the impact climate change will have on future housing and what she believes is necessary to create a more sustainable and responsive built landscape. Watch the video above for the interview, and if you want to learn more, you can get your own copy of Urgent Architecture here.

A full transcript of the interview with pics is available after the jump.

Read the rest of INTERVIEW: With Bridgette Meinhold, Author of ‘Urgent Architecture’

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", adaptable housing, book review, bridgette meinhold, bridgette meinhold interview, design for disaster preparedness, design to withstand disasters, disaster design, disaster housing, Eco Architecture, eco design, green architecture, green books, green design, inhabitat book review, Prefab Housing, resilient architecture, resilient design, sustainable design, urgent architecture

A new United Nations report makes the startling assertion that disasters have resulted in $2.5 trillion in damage within the last 13 years alone. Those losses fall principally on the private sector, warned UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said at a New York City launch event for the report: “Governments bear the responsibility for disaster risk reduction. But the level of risk is also related to the where and the how of investment by the private sector, which is responsible for 70 to 85 percent of worldwide investment in new buildings, industry and critical infrastructure.”

Read the rest of UN Report Says Disasters Have Cost $2.5 Trillion Since 2000

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Post tags: ban ki-moon, Climate Change, disaster risk reduction, extreme weather, GAR, global warming, UN, UNISDR, United Nations

We all know that sea levels across the world are steadily rising due to climate change, but just how these changes will affect us remains to be seen. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) just released a report that states melting ice could cause water levels to rise nearly 27 inches around the world by 2100.

Read the rest of UN Scientists Estimate Sea Levels Could Rise 27 Inches This Century

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Post tags: Climate Change, eco design, global warming, green design, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, sustainable design

Inhabitat’s favorite local NYC design show, BKLYN Designs, just wrapped up a three-day run in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, and the Inhabiteam was on the scene to source the latest and greatest green designs at the show. From adjustable, magnetic lights designer by Bower to a Mesmerizing 3D LED LUCID Mirror from Adam Frank to this incredible concept for a flood-proof, prefab beach building by Garrison Architects, see all the designs that really stood out in the Inhabitat editors’ eyes. And don’t forget to check out which designer won best in show according to Inhabitat readers.

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Post tags: Adam Frank, aellon, Bien Hecho, Bower, Brooklyn, brooklyn chamber of commerce, Brooklyn Designs, Caleb Zipperer, casa kids, Dog Tag Designs, eco design, from the source, furniture design, Garrison Architects, green design, home goods, hooker and co, house ware, industrial design, inhabitat, inhabitat nyc, Lamacek, Mark Jupiter, new york city, Noble Goods, palo samko, pickett, reclaimed wood, recycled aluminium, Recycled Materials, salvaged materials, salvaged wood, sustainable design, Urban Chandy, west elm

Read the rest of Amazing Tiny Tack House Was Built Entirely by Hand

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Post tags: eco design, green design, handmade home, Malissa and Chris Tack, minimal living, small living, Snohomish, sustainable design, tiny spaces, tiny tack house, washington

Read the rest of Perkins + Will Unveils Green-Roofed LEED Silver Instructional Centre for the University of Toronto

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Post tags: eco design, green design, green roof campus, Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Center, LEED silver campus, perkins + will, sustainable design, University of Toronto Instructional Centre, University of Toronto Mississauga

Read the rest of Haunting Images Show What Major US Cities Would Look Like if Sea Levels Rose 25 Feet

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Post tags: boston, Climate Change, global climate change, Miam, New York., Nickolay Lamm, rising sea levels, sea level, Washington DC

20 years ago there were an estimated 50,000 rivers running through China – but a recent survey has found that over 27,000 of the waterways have disappeared.  An extensive three-year waterway census throughout the country found that China’s rivers only number 22,909 – remarkably less than previously thought. But despite the dicey recent history surrounding China’s rivers, environmental issues aren’t entirely to blame – old-fashioned human error may have thrown the estimated numbers severely off.

Read the rest of 27,000 Rivers “Disappear” in China, According to Recent Waterway Census

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Post tags: china pollution, China river pollution, China rivers disappear, eco design, green design, Huang He, Ma Jun, sustainable design

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Post tags: climate central, Climate Change, environmental destruction, environmental news, global warming, Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Sandy's wake, new jersey, New York., News, sewage, superstorm, untreated human waste

Last week we reported on the groundbreaking new media platform Earth 2 Hub which aims to create a space for the world’s most creative artists, designers, scientists, and storytellers to explore and share their solutions to the numerous problems facing earth and its inhabitants. To shed more light on Earth 2.0 and the newly-unveiled hub, we talked to Melissa Sterry, who is one of the most well-known futurists on the planet. A design scientist and transformational change strategist for the built environment, utilities, manufacturing, design, publishing, media and communications industries, Melissa is also a PhD researcher at AVATAR – the Advanced Virtual and Technological Architecture Research group, where she is developing The Bionic City – a sustainable smart city that transfers knowledge from earth’s ecosystems to create a mega-city blueprint that can withstand extreme meteorological and geological events such as flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, eruptions and earthquakes. Step on in for a fascinating glimpse of what the future of design and architecture might hold.

Read the rest of INTERVIEW: We Talk to Futurist Melissa Sterry About Earth 2.0 and the Bionic City

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Post tags: biomimicry, Bionic City, Earth 2 Hub, Earth 2.0, eco design, Futurist, green design, Melissa Sterry, social media, sustainable design, Technology

Heavy rain overwhelmed Chicago’s aged infrastructure yesterday, causing sewage to back up into homes and burst through manhole covers in the middle of the street. The videos make for pretty horrifying viewing, but equally horrifying is how the pressure on the system was alleviated: through a last resort measure that allows runoff and wastewater to be released into Lake Michigan. And this isn’t a one-off, as Chicago has experienced ever increasing rainfall, over 21 billion gallons of wastewater and runoff was released into Lake Michigan between 2007 and 1012.

Read the rest of Heavy Rainfall in Chicago Causes Sewage to Spew into Lake Michigan

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Post tags: chicago, chicago rainfall, Chicago River, chicago waterways, flooding, infrastructure, Lake Michigan, sewage, storm runoff, storms, wastewater, water bacteria, water managment, water pollution

Read the rest of Spherical Ekinoid Shelter is a Self-Sufficient, Disaster-Proof Prefab Home

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", disaster-proof housing, eco design, ekinoid, ekinoid project, elevated house, global housing shortage, green architecture, Green Building, green design, house on stilts, pod house, Prefab Housing, spherical house, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

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Post tags: affordable disaster housing, bamboo housing, eco design, floating housing, green design, H&P Architects, Southeast Asia housing, sustainable design

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Post tags: Antinori Winery, Archea Associati, cultivatable roof, eco design, Florenc, green design, green roof, historic vineyard, rooftop vineyard, Siena, sustainable design, vegetated roof, vineyard

Read the rest of INHABITAT INTERVIEW: 8 Questions With Liz Rooks of North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park

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Post tags: "solar energy", "sustainable architecture", Daylighting, foundation, green architecture, Green Building, green design, Liz Rooks, NC, north carolina, Research Triangle Park, RTP, Sustainability, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

Read the rest of Building Trust International Announces Winners of Competition for Sustainable Low-Income Housing in Cambodia

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Post tags: Building Trust International, Cambodia, Competition, composting toilets, construction, Courtyard House, cross ventilatio, David Cole, Design Competition, green roofs, habitat for humanity, low income housing, Open Embrace, rainwater collection, solar panels, Sustainable Materials, Wet + Dry House

Haiti’s hills were once lined with lush greenery – but now it’s 98 percent bereft of plant coverage, making it one of the least forested nations on earth. To address the issue the government just promised to plant as many as 50 million trees a year in order to double coverage from two percent to just over four percent by 2016, The Guardian reports. In addition to restoring some of the forests clear cut for colonial plantations and felled for cooking fuel, the move is expected to reduce poverty and improve quality of life for millions of residents.

Read the rest of Poverty-Stricken Haiti to Plant Millions of Trees, Aims to Double Forest Coverage by 2016

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Post tags: agriculture, Clinton Foundation, Environment, environmental degradation, environmental service, haiti, mudslides, natural disaster, News, Richard Branson, tree planting

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Post tags: 51n4e, adaptive reuse, belgium, buda art center, Daylighting, eco design, green design, green renovation, Kortrijk, Recycled Materials, sustainable design, yellow brick

Although global warming has a negative impact for most of the planet, some are finding that it has some unexpected benefits. In the Arctic Valleys of Greenland, gardeners are finding that strawberries, thyme and tomatoes are thriving for the first time, and in other areas, reindeer are getting fatter and fatter as the grazing area expands. It all points to a new environment that may even help Greenland become more independent.

Read the rest of Gardeners Plant Strawberries and Tomatoes in the Arctic Valleys of Greenland for the First Time

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Post tags: Arctic global warming, climate change arctic, climate change greenland, global warming impact, Greenland Arctic melting, Greenland crops, Greenland gardening, Greenland Global Warming, Greenland growing crops, Greenland livestock

Whether it is a fruity Napa merlot or an oaky and acidic Chablis chardonnay, any wine lover will tell you that each variety of grape and the region in which it is grown gives each wine a unique character. With global warming altering the world’s climate and weather patterns, enthusiasts may have to start reworking their palates. Climatologists at the French research institute INRA predict that global temperature will rise 1 to 2 degrees Celsius by mid-century, making extreme weather events more common and opening up new regions for viticulture. Under these conditions, existing winemakers across the globe will be unable to continue to create the exact same styles from their grapes as they have in the past.

Read the rest of Climate Change Could Alter the World’s Wine List

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Post tags: accaf, appellation laws, canada, chablis, Chardonnay, Climate Change, Denmark, England, france, germany, global warming, grapes, greece, gregory jones, grower, inra, langeuedoc, mediterranean, merlot, napa, New Zealand, northern europe, oenology, portugal, sicily, southern chile, southern oregon university, Spain, tasmania, vintner, wine